Wekiva Cove - Cove residents get a scary wakeup call!!

During the early morning hours this past Monday, a desperate drug addict attempted to steal from more than 100 cars parked in the driveways of Cove residents. After he and several friends had consumed all of their $1000 of crack cocaine, he decided that the affluent community of Wekiva Cove, some three and a half miles from his residence, would be a good source of additional drug money. By mid day, he and his female associate were in the Seminole County jail, thanks to a fluke of bad luck.

After several hours of questioning by Seminole County Sheriffs Office investigator Chris Maiorano, the following story emerged.

Dressing in a dark hoodie and cargo pants, the thief had his girl friend drop him off at the Wekiva Cove clubhouse and started his methodical testing of parked vehicles. Walking up and down each street, he would try the door handles of each parked vehicle. If the doors were unlocked, he would enter the vehicle and search the glove compartment, console and the rest of the interior, looking for loose cash and any items of redeemable value. If the vehicle was locked, he would move on to the next one. In one vehicle he found a laptop computer and DVD player. Understanding that a person walking down the street at that hour of the morning carrying electronic devices would be very suspicious, he had come prepared with some plastic bags. He put the devices in a bag and tossed it under a bush, to be retrieved later.

On the north end of Wekiva Cove Road, he found an open garage door and entered the garage. He found the door to the house unlocked, so he entered the house to look for more valuables. When he heard the sounds of occupants in the house, he decided to leave, suprisingly locking the door on is way out. By the time he had reached 443 WCR, the pockets of his cargo pants were so full, that walking was becoming difficult, so he called his girl friend to pick him up. They retrieved the hidden bag of electronics and left the community.

Driving back thru Apopka on their way home, they were observed by a patrolling Apopka police officer, who was familiar with them from past drug investigations. Executing a traffic stop on the car, the sharp officer discovered the evidence and subsequently contacted Seminole County. Both parties are currently confined in the Seminole County jail, with no bond permitted. They are both charged with thirty-five felony violations.

In a presentation at the Wekiva Cove clubhouse this past Thursday evening, Investigator Chris Maiorano related that the suspect was driven back thru Wekiva Cove where he indicated the areas that he had prowled. He had checked roughly one hundred parked vehicles and found about thirty five of them unlocked. He would cross back and forth over a street as he observed possible choices. On the north end of WCR, he received a scare when he observed what he thought was a Seminole County Sheriffs squad car parked on Budleigh Salterton Close. actually walking up to the vehicle to see if anyone was inside.

Inv. Maiorano asked the thief why he didn't break into any of the vehicles and the reply was "I didn't think it was right to damage anyone's property."

Maiorano emphasized that most petty thieves are looking for crimes of opportunity, which translates to open doors and valuables in plain sight, which was confirmed by the fact that some sixty-five Cove vehicle owners were spared any invasion of their property because they had locked up their property.

Maiorano was mystified by the fact that most vehicle owners today have remote locking devices on their key rings, but so many fail to consistantly make use of them.

Also speaking Thursday evening was SCSO Sgt. Adrian Youngblood, who is one of the deputies that is contracted by WCHOA to regularly patrol our community. He received a round of applause when it was disclosed that he was the deputy that had made a recent DUI arrest of a driver that nearly struck a cyclist near Liverpool Cove. Youngblood stated that prior to this week's incident, there had only been 4 reported crimes in the Cove in the past year, which he indicated was very low.

At the end of the presentation, Margaret Levins, Coordinator of the SCSO Crime Prevention Unit spoke about the value of observant homeowners and stressed the need for a functioning Neighborhood Watch program.

The lesson hopefully learned this week was 'If you own it, lock it. If it's valuable, keep it out of sight."

The Neighborhood Watch program in Wekiva Cove has been dormant for several years due to lack of volunteers willing to participate. If you would like to help protect your neighborhood by being a Neighborhood Watch volunteer or would like more information on the program, telephone Jerry Ames at 407-788-7212.